1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is an apparatus adapted for use in practicing hitting a baseball from a batting position on a level playing surface.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Numerous systems have been devised to aid players, both amateur and professional, in improving prowess in hitting a baseball. The sport of baseball is played in many countries throughout the world. The actual sport of baseball requires a very large area upon which a game of baseball may be played. In the conventional rules of professional baseball the pitching rubber is located sixty feet distant from the batting position, which is termed a home plate. Three additional bases are arranged with the home plate at the corners of a square that surrounds the pitching rubber and extends ninety feet on a side. A hitter in baseball, standing adjacent to the batting position defined by the home plate, attempts to hit a pitched ball in the air as far as possible and within the ninety degree angle formed between third base, home plate and first base. A baseball and a baseball bat are constructed so that it is possible for talented hitters to hit a baseball well beyond the ninety foot distance between home plate and the nearest bases. Accordingly, even small children who cannot hit a baseball great distances require a playing field of a very substantial area within which to play a game of regulation baseball. Even the smallest baseball fields used in organized, amateur baseball leagues for adolescent children require a circular sector shaped playing area that extends over an arc of ninety degrees and which is at least about one hundred fifty feet along each side. Naturally, the playing areas designed for older and more mature, developed players are considerably greater and require several times as much area as small, amateur playing fields for very youthful players.
Due to the considerable playing area which is required to play a game of baseball, systems for practicing hitting a baseball are, to a large extent, unsatisfactory. Young, amateur players are frequently unable to obtain access to full size baseball playing fields for the purpose of practicing hitting. Due to the large size of even the smallest baseball fields, most baseball playing fields are controlled by park districts and other municipal government agencies. In populated areas there is often intense competition among individuals and organizations to obtain time allotments for the use of a full sized baseball playing field for purposes of practicing. Individuals seeking to practice hitting frequently attempt to do so in small groups, so that each individual involved will have the maximum opportunity to practice batting. The division of amateur baseball players into such small groups intensifies the demand for access to full size baseball playing fields for purposes of practicing. Also, the strategy of practicing in small groups is to a certain extent counterproductive, since a great deal of time is spent retrieving baseballs which have been hit far afield in full size baseball fields and less time is thus available for the actual practice of hitting baseballs.
To attempt to remedy the significant shortages in opportunities for the practice of hitting baseballs, a very substantial industry has developed in the form of commercial establishments which provide a series of batting cages and automatic pitching machines which are made available for a fee to baseball enthusiasts for use in practicing hitting. Such cages are typically packed together in a row, separated from each other by narrow mesh partitions. The area within which each individual who is practicing may hit a ball is defined as a narrow tunnel between the partitions and beneath an overhead screen. Because of the totally enclosed nature of the hitting area, the hitter receives only very limited indications of the proficiency with which he or she is hitting. Due to the narrow confines of commercial batting practice hitting enclosures, virtually the only indication of proficiency in hitting is the tactile sensation which a hitter receives when the bat is swung into solid contact with a baseball, into glancing contact with a baseball, or when the bat misses the ball completely. However, because the ball cannot travel more than a few feet before striking a confining screen, the hitter is largely at a loss to judge the effectiveness of any adjustments which are made in order to improve hitting prowess. Moreover, the cost of practicing at commercial batting cages is frequently prohibitive for many amateur baseball enthusiasts.